Software upgrade may include two types: system upgrade and application program upgrade. The system upgrade refers to that a system of a terminal is replaced with a system of a higher version e.g., the Android 4.0 system in an Android mobile phone is replaced with the Android 5.0 system. The application program upgrade refers to that application software of a newest version is downloaded and installed, so that a user experiences a newest application function.
The system upgrade may include local upgrade and online upgrade. The local upgrade refers to that a user downloads system software of a new version to a local computer, a terminal is then connected to the computer by using a cable, and the system software is upgraded according to an operation guide indicated by the new version. However, when the system software of the new version is obtained, a special-purpose tool, command, or password is usually needed. Therefore, a common user usually needs to go to a service outlet of the terminal to complete local upgrade with the help of a professional maintenance engineer.
The online upgrade refers to that after being connected to a data network, a terminal regularly queries system software of various versions that is stored in a version server. When system software, which matches a device model of the terminal, of a new version is found, with a permission of a user, the system software of the new version is locally downloaded from the version server, so that a system upgrade process is completed.
It may be seen that, when the local upgrade is performed, because the upgrade needs to be completed at a specified outlet of the terminal, excessive service costs and time costs are caused. When the online upgrade is performed, the terminal has to depend on the version server to complete upgrade of the system software. Once network quality is poor or the version server encounters a failure, the terminal cannot complete the system upgrade in time.